Achieving Teacher Agency for Inclusive Education: An Exploration of Teachers' Perspectives

• In Event: Interrogating the Notion of Inclusive Education Through Research, Policy, and Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Objective

Teacher agency is a rather abstract concept. It has been extensively theorized, yet its practical unfolding in an actual inclusive school setting remains largely unexplored, and a comprehensive empirically based theorization is still lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore teacher agency for inclusive education at work, by collecting and analyzing teachers' experiences and perspectives. To this end, we have tried to respond to the following research questions: 1) How does teacher agency for inclusive education unfold in inclusive school settings? 2) How can teachers “make a difference” and contribute to more equitable opportunities for all students? 3) What strategies are employed in this process?

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framing of this study sets on the foundation work by Pantic (2015) and draws from the findings of three literature reviews on teacher agency for inclusive education (Miller et al., 2020; Li & Rupper, 2020; Andreoli et al, in press). According to Pantic (2015), teacher agency is a transformative process aimed at fostering social justice in schools, which are more and more characterized by increasing cultural and social diversity. When enacting teacher agency, teachers act strategically, removing the risks of school failure and social marginalization, promoting academic achievements, and ensuring better opportunities for all students.

Methods

The framework method (Gale et al., 2013) was utilized to analyze the dataset. This allowed for thematic analyses of teachers’ experiences about change-making for inclusive education. Researchers identified and compared descriptive labels, developed working themes, and then grouped and organized the themes into a matrix.

Data Sources

This paper draws from 615 responses to the following open-ended question: Do you feel you have ever made a difference in inclusive school settings? Can you recall one or more episodes? This question was included in an online questionnaire as part of the “Special Education Teacher Agency” project carried out by the University of Verona (Italy). The sample includes 127 in-service general education teachers and 488 special education teachers working in inclusive settings. Participants vary according to the school level, years of experience, subject area, and certifications.

Results

Four inter-related categories emerged from thematic analyses to form the matrix: enabling conditions, strategies, outcomes, and levels. Preliminary findings showed that teachers transform school contexts by employing specific strategies: student-centered strategies, cooperation-oriented strategies, and leadership strategies. Enabling conditions ease the process and sometimes make it possible in the first place. Enabling conditions included teachers’ coordination and managing roles, reputation, competence, and professional development (PD). To have an impact meant to produce positive outcomes on learning outcomes and student well-being (educational level), improved and collaborative relationships among school actors (relational level) and school ideologies and practices (contextual level).

Scholarly Significance

This work contributes to outlining a practical theorization of teacher agency in relation to inclusive education. Our findings are relevant for teacher professional development providers, including governmental and educational agencies, which offer initial teacher training and PD opportunities for both special education and general education teachers.

Author

• Marco Andreoli
  Presenting Author